Josh Smith scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds while helping the Hawks build a 52-46 lead over the Washington Wizards at the half. Atlanta is playing without injured All-Star center Al Horford who suffered an injured back in last night's win over the Clippers.
The Hawks got out to a fast start leading 28-19 after the first quarter. The Wizards closed the gap in the second behind 16 first half points from Nick Young. Kirk Hinrich is also double figures for Washington scoring 10 points off the bench in the first half. John Wall scored all eight of his first half points in the first quarter after picking up two personal fouls in the first half.
Joe Johnson continued his good streak of shooting scoring 15 points in the first half while going 6-9 from the field. Mike Bibby bounced back from a poor shooting night last night to score seven points in the first half going 2-3 from three point range. After scoring 34 points in last night's contest, Jamal Crawford has been very quiet scoring just one point in the first half missing all four of his field goal attempts.
The Wizards out shot the Hawks 53% to 47% in the first half but eight first half turnovers helped the Hawks stay in front. Atlanta has also hit five three point shots and is 11-17 from the free throw line. Washington has lived on the perimeter in the first half going 4-6 from the free throw line.